The Nigerian Ports Authority has ordered all terminal operators to suspend all applicable terminal storage fees on consignments (demurrage) for an initial period of 21 days effective on March 23, 2020.
The NPA in a statement signed by its General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communication, Mr Adams Jatto, that the gesture was in recognition of the pressure that the COVID-19 pandemic imposed on businesses.
It added that the pandemic imposed the responsibility on the NPA to relieve this burden on its customers as well as to attain the objective of the Federal Government’s ease of doing business policy.
The statement read in part, “The authority recognises the financial implications of these policies on the terminal operators and will consider a shift in our operational charges to ameliorate the situation of stakeholders.”
In reaction to the raging coronavirus, the Lagos State Government had issued a directive suspending all non-essential services.
Most businesses, except for food and pharmaceuticals, had closed.
Stakeholders have applauded the move by the NPA, noting that most people who have their cargoes at the port could not pick them because of the lockdown.
